Storage tank



y 1940. w. E. ,|OOR 2,201,652

STORAGE TANK Filed May 1, 1937 5 Sheets$heet l Eli @AW A C M May 21, 1940. w. E. Joo 2,201,652

STORAGE TANK Filed May 1, 1937 s Sheets-Sheet 2 May21, 1940. w, EJOQR 2,201,652 I STORAGE TANK 7 Filed May 1, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 may 2] a 7M {32, a 4.4.; zw

Patented May 21, 19.40 I s I UNITED STAT-ES PATENT om 2111.1. 2531? it v This invention relates to storage tanks and able to operate in this manner because my tank more particularly to storagetanks of large'sizes plates require merely a simple bend in one diintended for use in storing petroleum products e o conform to the Shape Of y k. and other volatile liquids and gases. The inven- With this end in view I make the main section tion relates more specifically to tanks capable of of my tank substantially cylindrical and I secure it withstanding internal pressure due to the vapor e D and bottom each end of the y pressure or gaseous pressure of the fluid stored drical side wall structure. In order to enhance within said tanks. the pressure resistance qualities of my tank, I

Large t k of thi t e present individ al prefer to make the top and bottom of substanproblems not met with in smaller tanks. The y Cone h p 80 a e top nd bottom are '1" tanksare usually of substantial size; for examconnected at an angle to vt cyl d ical Wall ple, they may be as large as 25 feet in diameter structure. I do not intend. to be limited. to a and they may even be as large as 120 feet or geometrical conical shape since I m y, with a larger in diameter. In the case of a small round minimum f p fibrillation, make the p l structure, very considera le strength is provided Portions y p and bottom of urved f rby the relativelyhigh curvature of thewalls. en- When' the size of the tank becomes considerable, It Will i y e ppr iated that when a tank for example, a diameter of'25' feet or over, the of th general t p t at is. a tank in ludi g curvature is relatively slight and very l tt a substantially cylindrical side wall and a top strength isderived from he curvature of th l and bottom in substantially transverse relation 20 My dt k e capable of ith t thereto, is subjected to internal pressure, there is m considerable internal pressures, They ma tendency for the tank to develop a spherical prise reinforcing elements which are propor- 88 p Thai? there is a den y for honed t resist pressures of th desired degree, the juncture of the endswith the cylindrical side The tanks are, of course, provided with relief W ll to decrease in diameter and to move in- 25 valves, which prevent the occurrence of excesw y- According to my invention I provide sive pressure differentials. These tanks may be means which prevents any o e ent and built'for storing liquids of various volatilities and P vents the failure'of the tank which would realso for gas or vapors maintained under pressure. uit therefrom- I have found that if the cylinso h t k when employed for t storage of drical walls are reinforced at" their extremities, '30

. volatil liq id uch as petroleum products l no special reinforcement is required for the inhols and the like, may be adapted for the pretermediate portion of the side walls, since the vention or the reduction to a low extent, of the cylindrical S ape. i uflicient to prevent :any h d breath1ng" hi h 13 th cause of a tendency for these walls to belly between the re- 33 considerable waste of national resources. inforcins element-S t the ends. If the top and $35 The improved storage tanks are adaptable to bottom are flat 01' b nt ally flat, means need the storage of large quantities of liquids and to be prov o prevent excessive belly nsgases and meg be readily adapted to. take any However, by making the i501) and bottom coned desired pressin'e within a wide range. Furtherto some extent and provid g reinforcing mem-' more, the tanks can be easily constructed in a bers to hold their iunctures with the cylindrical ma n r that is conservative of materials and wall immovable, no further reinforcement of the labor, requiring a minimum of shop work. top and bottom is necessary. Of course, it is al- In an endeavor to build large tanks which will ways necessary to. provide adequate support for withstand internal pressure, substantially spherithe top so as to carry the weight thereof and cal or egg-shapedtanks have been built. These also to withstand any downward pressure which tanks, however, possess the disadvantage I that may be applied on rare occasions. they need to be shop-fabricated before being sent According to the present invention, I provide v to the tank location, this being necessitated by a novel reinforcing means for my tanks, which the fact that the metal has to be drawn in 9. enables them to be built to take practically any press to give the spherical or egg shape to the desired pressure and notwithstanding that they=5o finished tank. At the same time. the plates must may be of considerable size. It will be underbe trimmed'to conform to that shape. stood that the reinforcing members must be pro- I prefer to build my tank from plates which portioned in accordance with the duty expected need no shop fabrication and which may be sent of them. My preferred reinforcing members take {i direct from the steel mill to the location. I am the forms of rings which are capable of withs standing great compressive force. One of these rings is associated with the top and one with the bottom of the cylindrical portion of my tank so that the ends of this portion and the edges of the top and bottom ofthe tank which are anchored thereto, are held immovable notwithstanding the internal pressure and the resulting tendency of contraction of the tank at or near these junctures.

My compression rings may be located within the tank or outside the tank. I prefer to locate them within the tank because it is easier to anchor them to the tank in operative relation than when the compression rings are outside the tank. The material from which the compression rings are made is very important, because the compressive force which they must take in the case of large tanks and in the case of tanks which are subjected to a substantial internal pressure, may be very high. I prefer to build my compression rings in situ from reinforced concrete, thus utilizing the advantageous properties of concrete and more particularly its ease of installation and its capacity for taking high compression loads.

The invention will .be more fully understood with reference to the following description of preferred embodiments thereof, taken in con- Junction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional view through a tank embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional detail, on a larger scale, showing the upper reinforcing membe Fig. 3 is a similar view showing a slightly modifled form of the lower reinforcing ring;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional detail view, similar to Fig. 2, showing a modified form of upper reinforcing ring;

Fig. 4a is a plan view showing the concrete partly in phantom.

Fig.5isaviewsimilartoFig.4showings corresponding lower reinforcing ring, and

Figs. 6 and 7 are similar views showing still a further embodiment of my invention.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1, my improved tank may comprise a body portion ll 4 which is substantially cylindrical in form and is built up from flat plates which are bent in the held in any suitable and convenient manner into the slight curvature required. These plates may be welded together in known manner. At the upper periphery the cylindrical body II is provided with an internal annular angle member ii and at the base a similar annular angle memher I! is provided. The annular angle members Ii and I! may be secured to the cylindrical body II by welding.

The bottom ii of the tank may suitably consist of a plurality of tapering plates which may be welded together to form a conical bottom. The periphery of the conical bottom rests upon the angle member I! and may be secured thereto by welding. The roof of the tank may also comprise a conical structure It fabricated from plates welded together, which conical structure has its periphery located within the cylindrical wall ll so that it makes double contact with the angle member H to which it may be welded. To take the downward loads to which the roof it may be subjected, I provide a suitable substructure which may include trusses Il supported on the cylindrical wall structure ill by means of brackets or gusset plates Ii. The trusses may suitably form part of a three-hinge arch, each truss member I! being pivotally connected to one gusset plate 16 and to an apical member i1.

Adjacent truss members 15 may be secured together by means of channel members I8 or other suitable structural elements.

It will be noted that I prefer to provide the roof H with a greater slope than the bottom II. This is particularly so in the case of tanks intended to hold liquids. In the case of tanks intended to hold gas under pressure, the pitch of the roof and bottom may be substantially the same. Generally speaking, the more pitched, the end wall is, the more resistant is it to internal pressure. In the case' of tanks intended to hold liquids, the weight of the liquid and the weight of the tank rests on the bottom so as to provide an additional resistance opposing downward deformation of the bottom by internal pressure.

As suggested by dotted lines in Fig. 1, the top and bottom may be modified slightly so as to eliminate the apical portions and substitute therefor a curved extreme portion I8. This modification involves a relatively small amount of additional shop' fabrication. Of course, the roof and the bottom could be made much' flatter, but in that event it would be necessary to provide strong reinforcements to prevent bulging when subjected to internal pressure. It is preferred that the top and bottom should make a decided slope to the radial with respect to the cylindrical wall portion it, since otherwise the distortional force engendered by internal pressure at the ends of the cylindrical body II, which must be opposed by the annular compression members, would have to be increased in size to take the additional load.

The tank is, of course, provided with suitable valve control conduit means 42 shown at the lower part of Fig. 1, for the supply and withdrawal of fluid. As shown at the upper part of Fig. 1, a suitable vent pipe 43 may be pro-l vided which communicates with the interior of the tank, preferably about the level of the periphery of the roof ll so as to prevent the filling of the tank above the edge of the roof, which is objectionable since the additional liquid head would produce excessive stresses on the roof plates and on the circular ring. This upper vent pipe 43 is provided with asuitable automatic valve 44 whereby pressures above a predetermined amount may be automatically relieved and the valve 44 may open to permit air to pass inwardly through it so as to prevent the occurrence of vacua greater than a predetermined amount within the tank.

It is preferred to provide the compression members 20 and 2| inside the tank, as shown in Fig. 1. While these compression members may be made of any desired material, it is preferred to fabricate them from concrete, the concrete being preferably reinforced. It will readily be understood that the particular dimensions of the compression rings 2| and 2| must depend upon the pressure which the tank is to carry. These rings may be formed in situ. The upper ring 20 may comprise-a large number of U- shaped reinforcing rods 22, of which one leg is longer than the other. The lower longer leg is secured to an angle member 23 mounted on the. interior of the side wall I, and the shorter leg of the U-shaped member 22 is secured to an angle member 24 which is rigidly mounted on the under side of the roof M adjacent the June-- ture of the roof with the cylindrical wall ll.

The ring 2| may be formed with the aid of any suitable forms and is firmly anchoredto the roof I4 and the cylindrical side wall I. by the reinforcing members 22. Any suitable number of reinforcing members 22 may be employed, these reinforcing members being located between 4 inches and 8 inches apart all around the circumference of the tank. The ring 2! may also comprise circular rods 2| which may extend completely aroundthe ring20 or'for substantial distances therearound. .These rods 2| are suit ably wired to the reinforcing members 22. The structure of the'rin'g 20 is shown both in Figs. 1 and 2.

The lower ring 2| is formed in substantially the same way, the reinforcing members 22 being secured to angles 23 on the inn r side of the cylindrical wall iland to angles l secured to the inner side of the bottom II. The ring 2| may comprise circular or arcuate reinforcing rods 25 just like the ring 20. As best shown in Fig. 3, the lower ring 2| may be modified so that all of its lower face rests on the bottom it of'the tank. I v

In this modification the reinforcing members 22 are replaced by reinforcing members 2! which are secured to an angle flange 21 motmted on the inner side of the bottom it and to the I supplemented by U members 28.

annular sill member |2tof the tank. In this em-. bodiment'of the invention the bottom I! may be secured exclusivelyto the horizontal web of the angle member l2. The reinforcement may be Reinforcing members 2! are provided in transverse relation to the reinforcing members 2!. That is, the reinforcing members 28, which are also of U shape, extend in the circumferential direction, being secured to an annular angle member 29 which extends around thebottom it of the tank, being located between the annular member 21 and the lower corner of the tank. The reinforcement of the ring 2| may be completed by circumferential or arcuate reinforcing members 20.

In the embodiments of the invention shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the structure ofthe tank may be substantially similar to that previously described.

However, the reinforcing rings 20 and 2| are provided on the exterior of the tank. Since these rings operate by their resistance to compression and since the tendency of the tank is tomove inwardly at the opposite ends of the cylindrical portion, when the tank is subjected to excessive pressures, it is necessaryto secure the tank to the,

rings so that the compressive force engendered in the rings holds the corners of the tank against inward displacement.

The attachment r the tank to the rings may he effectively attained by means of the reinforcement of the rings. Thus, as shown in Fig. 4,

the ring 2| may include U -shaped reinforcement members II which are spaced at frequentinte vals in the circumferential direction of the ring. One end of the U-shaped member 2| is secured to an annular angle member 82 secured to the roof. M of the-tank. The other end oi! the U-shaped member ll may be welded or other wise suitably seeured'to an annular angle member 22 mounted on the exterior of the tank wall ll.

The reinforcing .member ii is preferably located so that it is in the form of. a horizontal loop when mounted in position. Other reinforcing members, for example, U members 24, may have their limbs connected to the upper annular members The reinforcing members It may be U-shaped and they may lie in a single horizontal plane. They may be wired to the mem- I here, 2|. The'reinforcement of the ring 20- may .be completed by the annular or arcuate'reinforcing members 35. In this case thelower ring 2| issubstantially an inverted replica of the ring 20 and various parts thereof are indicated by the same reference numerals, with the exception of the sill l2.

' I According to these embodiments the cylindrical wall I0 is extended beyond the point of securement of the roof i4 and bottom ilto saidcylindrical-wall and the annular pocket formed between the extension of the wall' and the sloping wall of the roof or the bottom-,-as the case may be, serves as a pocket or receptacle for the'formation of the concrete annular ring.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 6,. it is to be noted that the upper end of the cylindrical wall ||l carries an angle. which is connected by a large number of radial reinforcing rods," to an annular angle member" 38 which isse -4 cured to the roof it. Further reinforcement'jis provided by arcuate or circular rods 29 andlby oblique rods 40 which are secured to the annular anglemember "and to an 'annular angle mem- ,in Fig. 7 is substantially: similar to that shown in Fig. 6 but,- since it is locatedat the bottom of the tank, is substantially an inverted replica of that compression ring; It differs from'that compression ring in the'fact, that its bottom line is bent; downwardly and is not substantially horizontal, providing greater inner thickness and ,lesser outer thickness for the ring which may,in

some cases, be desirable. Furthermore, the

oblique rods ll do not extend to the annular 38 at the end of the cylindrical body It.

It will be noted that in all cases I have provided an upper compression ring and the lower compression ring 2| which is located at. or near the circle of juncture between the roof M or the bottom II with the cylindrical wall II. These annular compression membersare corre- Y lated with the tank structure at these locations suchdetailsare not intended to be llmitative by the comof the invention except inso far as set forth. J

in the accommnyins claims.

,. Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire "to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is: 1. A storage tank capableiof resisting high internalgas or vapor pressure comprising a substantially cylindrical body portion. two endclosure members having conical marginalportions rigidly anchored arotmd their circumferences to said cylindrical body portion, and a concrete ring supported ateach end of said body portion and arranged to besubjected tocompreb sion by any force tending to move said ends of the body portion inwardly, whereby any tendency for said ends to move inwardly as a result of high internalpressure is communicated to the ring and resisted by its resistance to co.

2. A storage tank capable of resisting high internal gas or vapor pressures, comprising a substantially cylindrical body portion, a closure member at each end thereof having conical marginal portions secured to said body portion, and two annular compression members one adjacent each end of said body portion and rigidly secured thereto, said annular compression members being strongly resistant to compression whereby they eflectively prevent any inward movement or deformation of the ends of the body portion and the portions of the closure member adjacent thereto, as a result of high internal gas or vapor pressure.

3. In a storage tank capable of resisting high internal gas or vapor pressure, in combination, a substantially cylindrical body portion, an end closure member secured to the body portion in sloping relation, and a compression ring within said tank in cooperative relation thereto adjacent the juncture of the end closure member and the body portion, to prevent inward movement of said juncture owing to high internal pressure.

4. In a storage tank capable of resisting high internal gas or vapor. pressure, in combination, a substantially cylindrical body portion, an end closure member secured to the body portion in sloping relation, and a compression ring built up of reinforced concrete and secured to the interior of the tank adjacent the juncture of the end closure member and the body portion, to prevent inward movement of said juncture owing to high internal pressure. I

5. A storage tank capable of resisting high internal gas or vapor pressure comprising a substantially cylindrical body portion, substantially conical end closure members rigidly anchored. around their circumferences to said body portion at sloping angles, and a reinforced concrete ring supported at each end of said body portion and arranged to be subjected to compression by any force tending to move said ends of the body portion inwardly, whereby any tendency for said ends to move inwardly as a result of high internal pressure is communicated to the ring and resisted by its resistance to compression, said rings being secured by their reinforcements to the body portion and the adjacent end closure member.

6. In a storage tank capable of resisting high internal gas or vapor pressure, in combination, a substantially cylindrical body portion, an end closure thereto having a conical peripheral portion secured to said body portion at some distance inwardly from its end, and a compression ring of concrete formed within the annular chamber thus formed adapted compressively to resist any tendency for the tank adjacent the junction of the body portion and closure member to move inwardly as a result of high pressure within the tank.

7. A storage tank capable of resisting high internal gas or vapor pressure comprising a substantially cylindrical body portion, substantially conical and closure members rigidly anchored upon their circumferences to said body portion at sloping angles, and a reinforced concrete ring supported at each end of said body portion and arranged to besubjected to compression by any force tending to move said ends of the body portion inwardly, whereby any tendency for said ends to move inwardly as the result of high internal pressure is communicated to the ring and resisted by its resistance to compression, each of said rings extending over adjacent portions of the cylindrical body and the conical end members.

- "WILLIAM 11:. soon. 

